


Recovered

by writersartwork



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Baby Harry, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, Rich Louis, Sassy Louis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-07 18:08:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18878491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersartwork/pseuds/writersartwork
Summary: Louis was all but happy to go to college; he simply thought he was above it all. His parents forced him to go, and he found that he hated every single thing about it. Especially his roommate who has a seemingly mysterious past that Louis couldn’t wait to find out. From exploring the city to sass fights to actual fights to studying for midterms, his roommate was kind to him despite Louis’ bitter tongue, and Louis wanted to know why this guy didn’t know anything other than kindness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Louis meets his roommate
> 
> hi, everyone! i'm cassidy and this is my first story on ao3 so i hope you enjoy it 
> 
> feel free to leave any feedback or constructive criticisms. all the love.

Louis absolutely loved life.

In the most sarcastic way possible.

Name anything and it’s a guarantee that Louis hates it. 

Well, he hated everything at that specific moment. 

There was something about being forced to alter his life completely around that really got him going. 

Having your parents force you to go to college and major in something you don’t want to, really puts a damper on things. Not to mention, moving across the country to some college he’s never heard of and living with a roommate in a tiny ass flat. Simply put, Louis was seething. 

His ultimate dream used to consist of him becoming a famous professional football player. 

But that dream was crushed when his parents decided they didn’t want that for their son. They viewed it as more appropriate to become some type of doctor. 

Louis’ family was rich; he knew that. He tried to flaunt that as much as possible. His dad owns a company that does very well; therefore, his family was loaded. Out of all his siblings, his parents believed Louis was the most spoiled with an attitude. He was the only one who refused to deal with a poor lifestyle. 

“I don’t know why you couldn’t send me to Oxford or some shit like that,” Louis grumbled as his family made their way up the stairs, arms filled with Louis’ things for his flat. The little ones were even tripping, but Louis paid no mind as he strolled with his rolling suitcase. 

Louis’ dad inwardly shook his head at his son. His mum piped up though. “We would have if you could have gotten in.” Slam, right in Louis’ gut as he tried to put a facade on as much as possible. 

“You could have at least pulled some strings,” he fought back as he looked down at the piece of paper containing his room number and tried to follow the signs. 

“Despite what you may think, Louis, we’re not that rich,” his mum huffed, arms giving out to the giant box she carried. 

“My Louis Vuitton belt and Mercedes say otherwise,” Louis snapped, relieved as he finally found the right room. 

“We’re not royalty,” she pointed out, trying to make it clear how they weren’t that rich.

“No, we’re richer.” Louis unlocked the door as he finished speaking causing his already so beloved roommate to look up from his desk. 

Louis’ parents quickly dropped their boxes and composed themselves. “Hi, you must be Harry. It’s so nice to meet you!” His now roommate Harry absolutely charmed his parents over text, so if Louis felt a little, dare he say, jealous, he would never actually admit it. He was angry. “I’m Jay, and this is Mark.” Louis looked out the corner of his eye; they were hugging. Jealousy steamed red out of his ears. Harry definitely seemed to be the charming type as he easily conversed with Louis’ parents. As Louis thought, he concluded he was quite charming-looking. He had a nice broad, long body with really long, curly hair. His body just seemed to stretch for days. He may also have quite a lovely smile, but that thought never needed to leave Louis’ head. 

As Louis was not so subtly checked him out, he made eye contact with Harry whose smile lit up. “Hi, Louis, I’m Harry!” Louis mentally checked that he actually pronounced his name right. Harry took a few long strides before stopping in front of Louis. He tried to go in for a hug but was quickly deflected by Louis’ intentional handshake. 

“Oh, sorry; I forget not everyone’s a hugger,” Harry said trying to play off the awkward situation as he settled on the handshake. Louis felt a bit intimidated by Harry’s much larger stature than his own. He was only few inches taller, but his presence seemed larger. 

“I feel like you shouldn’t assume anyone is,” Louis snapped causing Harry to shrink back slightly. 

“Right, um.” Harry looked to Louis’ parents almost pleading for help. He was curious as to where Louis got his demeanor. “Do you guys need any help bringing stuff up?” Jay seemed to cry in relief. 

“That would be lovely, Harry. There isn’t much left though,” Jay said as she motioned her way to the door. 

Harry quickly protested. “I think Louis and I should be able to handle it.” Louis rolled his eyes because how the fuck would he know?

“I mean, I was just gonna stay and start unpacking,” Louis said, trying to avoid doing any physical labor. 

“C’mon, it’ll be fun.” Fucker. 

Louis led the two of them to his parents’ car. He wasn’t looking at Harry, but he just knew there was slight jealousy behind his eyes, since it was a Cadillac, after all. Harry would say the opposite, though. “So what was your major again, Louis?” 

Louis stopped walking right in front of the trunk where he lifted it up to reveal the rest of the car’s contents. “Look, Harry; I’m sure you’re a nice person and all,” Louis started condescendingly, “but do you need something? Better clothes? Shoes?” Louis chuckled a bit before continuing. “All I’m saying is that you don’t need to put up this whole kind act when it’s clear you just want money.” Louis grabbed the single box from the trunk and handed it off to Harry as if he was his servant. 

Harry happily accepted it, though as he watched Louis shut the trunk and lock the cars. “Louis, I’m sorry if I ever came off that way, but I‒”

“Save it, Harold.” Louis put a hand in front of Harry’s face before stalking off. Harry followed. “You can take anything from my closet that you want.” He turned back around towards Harry and looked him up and down. Harry really didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he was wearing. Just a simple white t-shirt and some jeans, what was wrong with that? Maybe his boots were a little rougher for wear, but they’ve been with him for a while. 

Harry waited a few moments before he got the courage to speak up again. “Well, my major is Biology with a pre-med track, so maybe that’s why we got placed together? Because we have the same major?”

They were almost up the stairs when Louis suddenly turned around, now taller than Harry since he was two steps above him. “Look, I got placed in a room with you because my parents told me too late that I needed to go to college, so I applied here since the application was open, and they gave me the crappy building. We simply got put together because I was late, and you’re poor. Simple, really.”

Before Harry could react at all, Louis had already turned and made his way down the hallway. 

“Back already?” Louis’ dad said when he entered the room. “I thought there was one left?” 

“Well, I had to lock the door,” Louis shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Where’s Harry?” Jay asked. 

“He was right behind me, I don’t know.” His parents made eye contact before his mum crossed her arms, looking very stern. 

“Louis, I am not going to tolerate you having such an attitude to other people. Harry seems like such a sweet boy; maybe you two could become great friends. You are going to be living together.” Louis felt small; he could dish out a lot, but he sure couldn’t take any. Before Louis could say anything in response, Harry walked in, smiley as ever. 

Louis was finally able to relax as he looked around at the place he would call home the next nine months. Currently, the space was crowded by all his family members. At least, the flat was separated into two floors where one person was downstairs and one person had the loft. He specifically stated to Harry that he wanted the bottom because there was more space, but as he looked around, Harry’s stuff was placed downstairs. 

“I thought I told you I wanted bottom,” Louis said without thinking. He realized his mistake as soon as he said it. Harry clearly caught on as he hid his smile with his hand. 

“Right, yeah, sorry. The RA who checked me in said I was, er, assigned, downstairs,” Harry really did look apologetic. 

Mark quickly deflected the situation. “Harry, would you mind fetching that RA for us?” Harry looked too excited to help more as he left the room on a mission. Mark turned to his son. “Louis, if I hear anymore of this type of attitude, your car is going back home with us,” he threatened. 

“You‒” Louis got caught off by Harry re-entering with an RA this time. 

“Hi, you must be Louis! I’m Ed, your RA. Welcome!” Ed held his hand out for Louis to shake. He made sure to make eye contact with Harry. “So, when Harry was checking in, I checked out your loft, as well. Everything was in good condition, so if you could sign this paper just to make sure you don’t get charged for anything you didn’t do.” Ed held out a pen and slid the paper across Harry’s desk. Louis quickly signed it and handed it back. “Looks like you’re all set. If you ever need anything, be free to stop by my room, I’m at the end of the hall. Any questions?” Louis shook his head. “Well then, welcome to University of Surrey!” 

 

When Louis was almost finished up with packing, his parents announced they had to leave, so they could be home before the girls need to go to bed. His mum squeezed him to death as tears leaked out of her eyes. All the girl gave him hugs; Louis guessed that he would miss them a bit. His dad simply gave him a clap on the back before shooing everyone out the door, leaving Harry and Louis in awkward silence. 

“Do you need any help unpacking?” Harry asked. Louis simply rolled his eyes as he tugged his last bag up the stairs. “Well, let me know.” 

Louis practically catapulted on his mattress, making his body slightly wince at how hard it was. This was sure going to be a long year. After a few more moments of relaxing, Louis could hear footsteps on his stairs. “Hey, I’m getting kind of hungry. Did you wanna go get lunch together?” 

Harry was quite stubborn. Maybe if he satisfied him at least once, he would give it up. “Yeah, sure. I can drive,” Louis said standing up. 

Harry was quick to stop that idea. “Well, I was thinking eating on campus, since we have that whole meal plan thing. It would give us a chance to see the campus, too?” 

“Right, course,” Louis smiled as best he could figuring the situation he was in. 

They both grabbed their keys, so they could get back in. Louis sighed before closing the door behind him. 

A few moments of awkward silence continued until they were out of their building. “So, erm, you mentioned something about not knowing you were going to college?” Harry piped up, clearly not yet having realized Louis does not like him. 

He would try, for a bit, at least. “Yeah, I thought I was going to try to become a football player, and if it didn’t work out, my dad would let me work at his company. A couple months before graduation, he told me I had to become a doctor, so here I am,” Louis finished. His tone was unmistakably disinterested. “So, yeah, we have the same majors.” 

Louis waited for Harry to call him out, but he never did. 

While they walked around the campus in mostly silence, Louis noticed all the things about the school that he didn’t see before. Most notably, how it was in the middle of nowhere. Just farm country. Louis wondered if there was anything to do around here. 

When they arrived at the student union, Louis’ curiosity got the best of him. “So what does someone like you do around here in their free time?” 

Harry furrowed his eyebrows before looking at the different food options. “Erm, remember? I’m not from here. I’m from Chesire, and you’re from Doncaster.” Harry gave Louis an awkward smile. 

“Right.” 

Louis noticed how kind Harry acted towards the cooks in the cafeteria. There had to be something wrong about Harry, deep under or something. No one is that nice. Louis would never trust anyone who was that nice. 

As they sat down at one of the tables, Louis asked. “What’s your story, Harold?” 

Harry took a bit of food before responding. Louis had yet to touch his food. Eating around new people always seemed awkward to Louis but apparently not to Harry. “I don’t really have one, I guess.” There had to be something, but Louis couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “What about you?” 

“I guess you’ve already heard the most of it,” Louis shrugged before taking his first bite. 

He would get down to the bottom of Harry’s (what was his last name?) life if it was the last thing he would do. Quite literally down to the bottom because he lives on the bottom floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first day of college

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter two, i hope you enjoy. as always kudos and comments are appreciated, as well as constructive criticism. all the love, cassidy.

Out of everything that comes with college, he was certainly the least excited for the actual school part. Especially since he was in a major that was notoriously hard. Louis just loved that. Yesterday, Harry forced him to go with him to search for their classes together. Louis wanted to wing it but having a really determined roommate got in the way of that. 

Well, to be honest, Harry did no type of forcing, he simply asked if Louis wanted to come along. Which, Louis wanted to get to the bottom of Harry’s situation, so of course he went. 

And of course he made no actual progress, and it was awkward as fuck. But at least he didn’t have to worry today about rushing around to get to his classes. 

Harry left in the wee hours of the morning. Louis only woke up when he heard the door shut but went back to sleep instantly. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was a good thing that he didn’t have the downstairs room. He didn’t have to deal with Harry walking in and out, and the bathroom was also downstairs. Louis slightly smirked to himself as he tied his shoe. 

The time was 8:45, and he had a class to get to at 9:00, so maybe he was in a little of a rush but not really. He had shut his door behind him and was walking down the hall when there was a large, tall body that stopped in front of him. “Hey, Louis!” Maybe it was slightly too early to deal with this. That was until he got an idea. 

“Oh, hey, Harry. Perfect timing, actually. I may have just left my key in the flat, so would you mind running and grabbing it?” 

Harry’s face lit up. What was with this kid and wanting to help so badly? “Yeah, stay here, I’ll be right back.” 

Well, he wouldn’t be back with a key, at least, because it was very safe in Louis’ pocket as he turned to descend down the steps. 

 

When Louis returned from his classes at the end of the day, he mildly expected Harry to be maybe like throw something? But, once again, his attitude never faltered. Louis stepped into the room, and he heard Harry’s voice, sounding almost sad. Maybe it caused Louis’ cold heart to drop a bit but not really. It may have actually filled Louis with a bit of pride because he finally accomplished part of his task. 

But that disappeared as soon as Harry noticed Louis in the room. “Mum, I gotta go. I’ll call you back soon. I love you.” Harry quickly took his earbuds out and turned to face Louis. 

Harry was quite intimidating. 

“Hi, Lou! How were your classes?” Maybe it was simply the eyes that were intimidating. There was that undying happiness and excitement. If he could compare anything to Harry, it would definitely be a puppy. No matter how many times he got kicked down, he would still come back. And Louis had already gotten tired of it. 

“My name’s Louis,” he simply stated before turning the corner to walk up the stairs to his loft. 

Harry followed him though. 

“Look, Harry. Downstairs is your space, this is mine. You have no need to come up here, got it?” Louis’ attitude had made an appearance once again, not that it ever disappeared. 

Harry retreated back on the steps and gave Louis a small smile. “Right, sorry, Lou. Louis, sorry.” 

Louis expected Harry to turn and sulk back to his desk. But he simply waited at the bottom of the stairs, looking at Louis. “Harry, were you homeschooled or something? Take a damn hint, I don’t wanna talk to you.” 

For the first time, Harry’s smile faltered. Louis caught it instantly. His usual bright eyes deflated instantly when the words left Louis’ mouth. 

“Well, I was gonna tell you that my classes were great, and I think I’m really gonna enjoy being here.” He left Louis staring at the bottom of the stairs. 

And, fuck, everything about this situation Louis hated. Louis always had the rich boy attitude; he owned it. Hell, growing up, he was known for it. And people despised him for it. As he pulled up into his school parking lot with a Mercedes, the passing looks of jealousy always made Louis swell with pride. There was really just something about knowing that he owned the title of being the richest kid in school. It satisfied him and his ego. 

Then there was football. He owned the field. Louis was easily the best player out on the field, in his own humble opinion. Nothing beat shoving another player to steal the ball right from under his feet. That part was almost better than scoring a goal. Because of football, he was popular. He had people falling on their knees for him every which way. Girls wanted to be with him, and guys wanted to be him. 

There was just one slight problem. 

He was gay. 

Very gay; as gay as he could get. Not that there was a spectrum for how gay someone could be, but Louis was up there. No one knew that. Not a single soul. He always felt entirely afraid that someone would find out and expose his secret, and it would tarnish his reputation. 

Which got him thinking. 

College was supposed to be the place to make big changes in life. What if he would just...come out? 

Did it work like that? 

Like, if he really wanted he could just go tell Harry. That would get the ball rolling. 

On the other hand, that thought was extremely terrifying. Who knows what would happen. Harry might actually start hating him, and then it would make everything super awkward. Louis was never good at seeing his own faults as he had no clue that things were already awkward between the two roommates. 

Over the summer, in an attempt to meet more people, he joined a group chat made for people going to the school. Granted, this group consisted mostly of people letting others know when major parties were happening. Which was definitely a major reason why he joined the group in the first place. At the moment, his phone dinged over and over again. There was information that there was going to be a back to school party. Louis was very tempted to go, but he didn’t want to go alone. The people who show up to parties alone are people no one wants to talk to. 

He had to make an entrance by asserting his dominance across the crowd. 

Okay, maybe that’s a little over the top but leave it up to Louis to do just that. 

The problem was that he didn’t really know anyone. How the fuck do people meet each other in college? 

Harry. He only knows Harry. 

After a few moments of heavy mental debate and emotional trauma, Louis headed downstairs. “Harry?” The curly haired boy seemed to be doing something hidden from Louis’ view, under the desk. Maybe he was masturbating. Whatever. Harry turned quickly like a deer in headlights when he saw Louis in view. He hastily shoved some type of object under his desk. Harry looked at him expectantly. “I was wondering if you...there’s a party tonight, wanna come?” 

“No thanks, Louis,” Harry answered instantly, opening one of his textbooks. Studying already? 

“Are you sure?” Louis just about groaned because he really needed someone to come with him. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” Harry wasn’t even looking at Louis at this point. He was clearly pissed, but Louis didn’t know why. 

“Even just for a bit?” A bit for Louis to get acclimated and find people to hang out with. 

“I need to study. Final answer.” 

Louis rolled his eyes in frustration. He started walking towards the door without really thinking. “Whatever, you’re a college student; you should let loose. Your loss, mate.” Louis may have possibly slammed the door a bit behind him. 

Well, that still leaves another issue. 

Who to go with? 

He had no clue who lived anywhere near him. 

Ugh, being an adult is hard. Even Louis himself had to snicker at that one. 

Louis stood in front of his door for a weirdly long amount of time before two guys left their room. It was like a scene out of a Disney movie. 

“Hey, mate. I’m Niall and this is my roommate Liam. Glad to meet someone who lives near,” a very fake-blonde said. Also, noting the Irish accent. Liam was a brunette that was very nicely built. 

“Hey, I’m Louis. Nice to meet you.” Louis shook hands with both of them. “Were you guys going anywhere specific?” That question felt slightly creepy coming out of his mouth. 

“Actually, yeah. We were heading to this one party. Wanna come with?” 

Louis grinned. Maybe he just found where he belonged. 

 

As far a college parties go, it was awesomely wicked. How did he manage to find such two crazy guys? Niall would not stop grinding on everything he saw (and no, it didn’t have to be a living, breathing thing). Liam could handle alcohol like he’s been doing it his whole life. 

To say that they were both party animals was an understatement. 

On their walk back (at an early 2 AM), Louis couldn’t stop giggling. “Mates! We gotta do that again! Oh, fuck!” Louis may have just ran into a bush, leaving the other two to just laugh at him. “Hey, don’t laugh. I could have died,” he pouted. 

“Aw, poor baby Louis,” Niall teased, getting a drunken shove from Louis. 

“Oi, give me a break, I’m big!” Louis exclaimed and laughed. He even found that entertaining. A few minutes of silent walking went by since the boys were trying their hardest not to fall into the street. They may have over done it by a bit. 

“Mates!” Louis yelled when they arrived in their hallway. “We gotta do this again soon! I love you guys!” Louis pulled the two of them in a drunk emotional hug. 

Louis opened the door a little bit too loudly because there was definitely a sleeping roommate about five feet from the door. He definitely managed to trip on something which led to a series of giggles. From the bed, rustling was heard. “Whoops, sorry, Harry. Silly me.” He giggled again. 

At this point, Harry was annoyed, but he (bless his heart) understood it. It was the first night of actual college, and people wanted to celebrate it. He knew that if he could, he would. So, out of the very kindness of his heart, Harry stood up from his bed. 

Louis noticed he definitely didn’t have a shirt on, and in his drunken state, said, “Ya know, I don’t like you, but I like your body.” Harry thought that maybe it was the worst compliment he’s ever gotten and resisted the urge to roll his eyes and get back to bed. He really wished that he had the loft now. 

“Good to know. Let’s get you to bed now.” Harry wrapped the smaller boy’s arm around his shoulders and, with a hand on his hip, helped guide him up the stairs. It was certainly no easy feat; Louis was practically a dead fish. 

He managed though. Harry became an overachiever, even, and plopped Louis down into his bed. At this point, Harry thought it was best not to touch any part of Louis’ body. Okay, maybe the shoes. That couldn’t be comfortable. 

When Louis was situated as best he could be, Harry sighed and travelled back down stairs. 

If only he knew college would turn out this way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
